Adventure Awaits
by RattleTheStarsAndPages
Summary: "Malfoy, I don't think you fully comprehend exactly what-" "And I don't think you fully comprehend, Granger, that I am coming with you." Zabini met her eyes with a grin as he clapped his hands together. "Well, you'd best get started." - Post-Hogwarts, EWE. Adventure across the world. Dramione. Multi-chapter. M-rated.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

"He's ready to see you now."

Hermione stood, smoothing her heated palms on her trousers and thanked the young woman sat at the grandiose desk before the double doors.

Anthony stood up next to her, pushing his glasses up his nose as he gathered the files they'd brought with them.

"Ready?" Hermione turned to him.

"As we'll ever be." He returned with a nervous smile.

The secretary stood to guide them through to the vast office behind the great oak doors.

"Sirs, Ms. Granger and Mr. Goldstein to see you."

"Thank you, Minnie, that will be all." The smooth tones of Blaise Zabini filled the room around as the secretary excused herself and drew the doors closed behind her.

"Please, be seated." Zabini gestured to high-backed chairs positioned closest to Hermione and Anthony in front of the great mahogany desk.

"Thank you, Mr. Z-Zabini." Anthony stuttered.

"So, how are you progressing on our... project?" Zabini leant forwards.

"Ah, very well, er... Mr. Zabini, sir. The report from the Galapagos Islands was very informative, and, er, we believe that it may just be, um, useful when put into context with, ah-"

Hermione placed a gentle hand on Anthony's arm as she interrupted him.

"Unfortunately, we're not progressing as far as we had hoped." She stated firmly. "We've been hard pressed in following our leads in this area of research, and whilst we have very much appreciated the boundless resources offered to us, I'm unsure that we're able to move much further forward on this front."

A dead silence filled the room as Anthony looked at her with wide, startled eyes. This had not been their plan going in, but he wouldn't have understood if she'd suggested being direct, as startled as he normally was.

"Not good enough." Draco Malfoy smacked his open palm against the table making all but Hermione jump.

She nodded in concession, "I appreciate your frustration, Malfoy, but we're limited with how far we can go from here."

Zabini piped up, "You mean to say there's _nothing_ that can be done?"

"W-well, there are certain limitations to the developmental process..." Anthony began.

"And did you not _foresee_ these limitations, Granger?" Malfoy demanded.

"My apologies, Malfoy, I did not choose to continue the study of a subject as pointless as Divination." Hermione narrowed her eyes.

"Now, now," Zabini cut in "Let us get back to the subject at hand..."

"The subject at hand, Blaise, is that Granger and Goldstein took our money on the basis of a promise that we would see results within six months."

"I do understand that, Draco, but..."

"And four and a half months later we are now being told that we are _facing limitations_ and that we are _unable to progress much further_. Well excuse me, but that sounds like absolute _bullshit._ "

"Mr. M-Malfoy, if I could just..."

"No. We hired you on the basis that you are the best. Clearly, your best is not good enough. You are dismissed."

" _Draco-_ " Zabini leaned forwards.

"Understood. Thank you for your time. Zabini, Malfoy." Hermione stood to leave.

"N-No." Anthony shocked them all, Hermione included.

A long moments pause of uncomfortable silence seemed to echo around the room.

"Excuse me?" Malfoy's quiet tone should have been warning enough.

"If I could just explain..."

"We are past explanations."

But Zabini raised a hand. "Please continue Mr. Goldstein."

Anthony took a long breath before continuing. "There is another lead. A small chance, mind. But a-a chance nonetheless."

Hermione looked at him with raised eyebrows. He couldn't seriously be suggesting...

"There is a plant. In Ecuador. That we- That I believe may hold great potential in this project." The rapt attention from Zabini and the mild interest from Malfoy seemed to give him confidence. "I believe that if we could harness the natural yield of this plant in it's own environment, we may well unlock an advanced stage in the cure for Cruciatus after-effects."

He was suggesting it. This bloody plant. After all this time, he'd been clinging on to this hope - why hadn't she seen it? What hadn't she _stopped him_?

"A plant?" Zabini asked.

"Yes. It's said to grow deep in untouched parts of the Ecuadorian jungle. It's rumoured to hold many properties, but I believe this could be one of them."

"Rumours, hearsay. Do you have any solid proof, Goldstein?" Malfoy interrupted.

"W-well, not as such, but the sources..."

"The sources do not give you facts, it appears."

"I understand w-why you might have trepidations..."

Zabini again cut in, "You really believe in this?"

"Yes, Mr. Zabini."

"And where can we get this plant?"

"As I s-said, it grows in Ecuador and..."

"So how do we go about getting it here?"

Anthony swallowed noisily. "W-we don't."

"We don't?"

"Bloody brilliant. Our one lead and we can't get our hands on it. Even better news. What a fucking fantastic day. Thanks for stopping by." Malfoy stood to leave.

But Anthony stayed firm. "W-we go to it."

Hermione cut in. "Anthony, you know we don't have the resources for that trip."

"We can give you more money, Ms. Granger." Zabini offered, "That would be the least of our worries."

"Speak for yourself." Malfoy muttered.

Hermione looked at Anthony's pleading face, saw the belief in his eyes. She sighed and turned back to Zabini.

"It's not so much the funding, it's more... who would go."

"B-but the funding still matters." Anthony cut in, reaching into another file for a printed spreadsheet tucked into the back of a folder. "I've calculated the costings that this trip would entail. It won't be cheap, but to do this p-properly, we'll need the best we can get."

He slid the paper across the desk. Zabini reached for it but wasn't as quick as Malfoy.

"Are you _shitting me_? We've given you a bottomless pit of Galleons for the past four months, and now you ask for this?!"

Zabini leaned over his shoulder. "Done. When do you plan to leave?"

"I'm not sure we can put this into action so quickly..." Hermione began.

"Two weeks." Anthony cut in.

"And how long will the expedition be?"

"Two months, all being well."

"And you're absolutely sure about this, Goldstein?"

"Yes. Sir." Anthony nodded.

"And you, Granger?" Zabini turned to her.

Hermione sighed. "It certainly holds promise."

"Well then, an adventure awaits the two of you!" Zabini crowed as he stood to shake their hands.

"Wait, you're seriously planning on giving them this money?" Malfoy turned to his companion.

"Absolutely. It's the best lead we have. Mungo's have done nothing on this for the past three years. We've tried other ventures and this is the first promising lead we've had in years." Zabini placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Money is money, Draco. Let them do this. Let _us_ do this."

Malfoy paused for a long moment, studying Zabini closely.

"Fine." He eventually relented. "But I'm going, too."

A chorus of ' _WHAT?!_ 's echoed around the room.

"You heard me. If you're taking all this money off us, I want to be sure it's spent wisely."

"But Malfoy, you're hardly in a fit state to be..." Hermione couldn't help her outburst.

"I'm in a perfectly fit state thank you, Granger, although I'm not sure what you're insinuating."

"What I meant to say was you're not exactly prepared for a trekking expedition..."

"And neither are you but we have two weeks to get ready. So I'll be joining you in preparations and on the trip."

"Malfoy, I don't think you fully comprehend exactly what-"

"And I don't think _you_ fully comprehend, Granger, that I am _coming with you_."

"Draco, are you sure about this?" Zabini interrupted the back and forth with an amused smile.

"Absolutely. Why is everyone so uptight about it?"

"You're not exactly outdoorsy, my friend."

"Thank you, Blaise, but I assure you - _I will be fine_."

"Very well then." Zabini turned back to face his visitors. "Mr. Goldstein, Ms. Granger, I wish you the best of luck dealing with this stubborn, narcissistic, indoor-dwelling, silk-sheet-sleeping, wanker."

"Shut up Blaise."

"Just making them aware of what they're walking in to."

"By all means, Zabini, I had no intentions of walking into this when we came here today." Hermione remarked.

Zabini met her eyes with a grin as he clapped his hands together. "Well, you'd best get started."

* * *

 **A/N:** Thank you for reading! Any reviews would be greatly appreciated.

- _SimpsonSortia_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

"You have to be kidding!" Ron Weasley thumped his beer bottle onto the small kitchen table of Hermione Granger's flat.

"The ferret reckons he's flying out to Ecuador to hack his way through the jungle? That's the funniest things I've heard all year."

"I know, I'm as shocked as you are." Hermione agreed as she began gathering the plates.

"Well, maybe you should give him a chance, Hermione." Harry piped up. "He might surprise you."

"Leave it out mate, you don't have to be all diplomatic here you know." Ron chuckled. "This isn't the Ministry."

"Harry, I think we all know it's highly unlikely Malfoy's going to manage anything of the sort we have planned. Zabini himself couldn't quite believe it." Hermione told them as she dumped the crockery in the sink and set it to clean itself.

"I just think you shouldn't be so quick to judge. He might still have a few tricks left up his Italian-tailored sleeves." Harry said.

Ron guffawed and slapped his own knee at this. "Seriously though, I'd bet the most outdoorsy thing he's ever done was the all-terrain hike he did down Goyle's trousers the time Moody transfigured him into a ferret."

"He was on the Quidditch team at school, I suppose." Hermione relented. "Although I'm not sure an aptitude with a broom will be of much help."

Harry smiled. "So you're really going to be heading off to Ecuador in a couple of weeks then? That's big stuff."

"I honestly thought the whole idea would never come up, let alone that I'd be preparing for training and booking travel and accommodation."

Ron helped himself to another beer. "How are you getting there? Portkey and Apparation?"

"Yes, most likely. Portkey to Washington I'd expect, then to San Francisco, and Apparate across the borders and down to Guayaquil. We're expected to visit with the Ecuadorian Ambassador while we're in the US, but I think we'll probably end up making an appearance with with officials in Ecuador itself." She sat back down at the table opposite the boys. "But if I can find a way to avoid Draco Malfoy meeting any kind of government official throughout this whole business, I'd be happier."

"I should think you'd be happy if you could avoid Draco Malfoy at all through it." Ron chuckled again.

"You're not wrong there." She smiled warmly at her friends. "Well, training starts tomorrow, so I'd best get an early night."

Harry stood to help clear the last few things away. "What will first day entail?"

"A general health test to see where we're all standing - a couple of Healers are coming along to help with the assessment. Then basic fitness and endurance. I suspect we'll be using your climate-control facility at the end of the week." Hermione could only be grateful for the perks that came with Ron and Harry working in the Auror department.

"You're welcome to it any time." Harry smiled.

"Never mind Malfoy though," Ron said, "How's old Anthony going to hold up? He's hardly a spring hippogriff."

"Yes, I do wonder. I suppose we can only wait and see." Hermione followed them through to the fireplace in the living room. "Well take care, and I'll check in with you both at the weekend."

"We'll be expecting a full report!" Harry grinned as she hugged him.

"And we didn't even get on to how living with Daphne is going for you, Ron!" Hermione exclaimed as he bent down to hug her as well.

"There'll be time before you whisk off on your adventure." He assured her. "Besides, it's pretty uneventful really. She's settled in well to my place, but she's been at Mungo's most evenings. The perils of dating a Healer-in-training." He rolled his eyes.

"Oh I am happy for you both." She smiled up at him.

"And Ginny will be seven, nearly eight months gone by the time you get back." Harry reminded her with one foot on the hearth.

"I hadn't forgotten. We've lunch plans next week so I'll catch up on all the pregnancy news I'm sure. And I'll be sure to pick up some presents for your little one while I'm away. He'll be the most spoiled Potter that ever was."

"Yep, little Mundungus won't know what do with himself when he's born." Ron laughed.

"Vetoed. We're definitely not calling him Mundungus."

"It's a classic. And old Mung would be delighted."

"No, Ron. I'll pay you not to suggest that one to Gin." Harry grabbed a handful of powder and waved at Hermione.

"Whatever you say, mate." Ron called after him as Harry whooshed off in a flash of green flames. "Look after yourself, Hermione. And if you happen to get any photos of Malfoy making a right dick of himself, be sure to owl me a copy."

"You'll be the first to know." She reached up to kiss him on the cheek. "Say hello to Daphne for me."

"Will do." And Ron was gone.

Hermione closed off her wards and wandered back through her flat switching off the lights as her grey tabby slunk into the hallway, stretching his back legs.

"Enjoy your nap, Atticus?" She murmured as she bent to pick him up. "It'll be a lonely time for you while I'm gone. But I'm sure Auntie Padma will enjoy your company."

She scratched behind his ears as he purred up at her, before she popped him back down as a tapping at the window caught her attention.

She opened it up as a haughty eagle owl soared in silently and settled on an arm of her sofa, thrusting it's leg out at her.

Thinking it could only be a Malfoy bird, she was proved right as she unfurled the scroll.

Granger-

I expect you to be fully functional and ready to face training tomorrow, but I will enjoy leaving you in my wake.

DM

"The pretentious git." She muttered to herself, earning a disapproving scowl from the owl.

She hastily scrawled a reply on the back, telling Malfoy that she would be surprised if he made it past the basic testing, and sent it back with the bird before sending herself off to bed.

* * *

 **A/N:** Apologies for the short chapter, it's still in a bit of an introductory phase. Plot development and chapter length stepping up in the next chapter - promise!

Feedback is always appreciated.

 _SimpsonSortia_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Hermione Granger was bruised, battered but not beaten, _never beaten_.

"Come on, Malfoy, never experienced a little cold before?" She yelled over her shoulder to be heard above the winds of the Auror's climate-control training arena as she pushed on ahead over the obstacles.

His colourful reply was lost in the storm behind her.

She dropped beneath a cargo net and crawled her way through the cold, wet mud and could see the finish zone just up ahead. She wasn't sure when Anthony had disappeared from view but she wasn't going to give up now.

She had a point to prove.

Harry greeted her with towels and foil blanket as she crossed the threshold into the antechamber, Malfoy not far behind her.

"Great time, Hermione, you're coming in close to some of our team."

She grinned, the competitive Gryffindor in her appeased. Malfoy cleared his throat.

"Good work, Malfoy." Harry nodded to him.

Malfoy rolled his eyes before speaking up. "So where did Goldstein get to? Is he still out there?"

"We should give it a few more minutes. He hasn't got that long before it's classed as a fail." Harry replied.

"By Auror standards, I assume?"

"Actually no, this is set on 'Adventurous Training' rather than 'Auror Evaluation'. It's a milder setting."

"Milder?!" Mafloy exclaimed, eyes wide before recovering his composure.

"Sure." Harry couldn't help a grin. "This is like first session stuff for us."

"Enough with the bragging, Harry." Hermione smiled. "I'm getting worried about Anthony - the last time I saw him was around the climbing wall."

Harry looked up at the large maps of the course, surrounding the window out into the training chamber. "Well, your 45 minutes is almost up, I suppose we can let it off a bit early. He's not in view in the last section at all. Alright, Macavoy, shut it off."

The young woman sat at the controls went about pulling levers and waving her wand across the enormous dashboard before her as the room before them quietened and became still.

They all studied the screens for a long moment before Macavoy piped up.

"There, by the underground tunnels!" She pointed to a position on a map in the top left corner, to a partially hidden, small red dot labeled 'A. Goldstein'.

"Good work Heidi, thanks very much for your work today." Harry patted her shoulder, as she beamed at him. Hermione couldn't help a swell of pride at what an excellent leader her best friend had become.

"Right then, let's go find your third." Hermione and Harry trekked out into the vast space, Malfoy following behind.

"It looks a lot smaller once you're not fearing for you life." He muttered.

"Sensory perception charms." Harry replied, "And a touch of misdirection thrown in for good measure. Obstacles in here aren't just about getting over or under things."

"It's amazing how much the department's progressed since your promotion, Harry." Hermione commented.

Harry immediately turned bashful, "Oh the ideas for this stuff were already here when I came in. I just helped it along and added in a few extras."

"Is that him?" Malfoy interrupted, pointing over towards an opening in the ground. A foot could just be seen poking out.

Hermione immediately dashed over. "Anthony? Anthony are you ok?"

A low groan met them as they arrived.

Harry patted the leg that disappeared into the ground. "Anthony, can you hear me? Do you think you can find your way out?"

Another groan echoed up from the narrow tunnel.

Harry and Hermione exchanged a look before he pulled out his wand to levitate the body out.

Once Anthony had landed gently beside them, Hermione bent down towards him. "Anthony, are you ok?"

His eyes fluttered open. "Just about." He croaked. "Please don't make me do it again."

She chuckled, "Well that one's finished for the day. It'll be high-temperature training next time. Might suit you a little better."

Malfoy dried off his towel with his wand before handing it to Anthony as he floundered his way up to standing, swaying rather precariously as he did so.

"Thanks."

"So what's next?"

"Well, the next cohort of potential Aurors have recruitment sessions over the next couple of days, so this room's out of action until then." Harry told them. "But Speed and Agility is free, so you guys could get started there?"

"You mean we're continuing today?" Anthony whimpered.

Hermione patted his shoulder. "Anthony, we're leaving in nine days. We can't be sure what we'll be facing when we get there - our resources are slim for climate and environmental information and even Ecuador's Ministry don't have a full picture. We have to be at top standard before we go."

He pulled his towel tighter around him before nodding.

"Sorry, what do we need agility training for?" Malfoy cut in. "We're hiking through a jungle to find a plant, not backflipping and somersaulting our way there."

"Agility isn't about gymnastics." Harry replied, rolling his eyes. "It's about balance, strength and co-ordination. Like Hermione said, you don't know what your facing. It might be a simple trek, but it could be climbing up rock faces, tunnelling, running away from danger. Not much use if you're falling about all over the place."

With a smug look, Hermione turned back to her friend. "Alright Harry, lead the way."

||\||/||\||/||\||/||

Training continued on at full intensity for the next week. Hermione and her expedition-mates found themselves in the Auror Training department for ten hours out of the fourteen they were spending at the Ministry each day. The rest of their time was dedicated to research and understanding of the culture and environment they'd be walking into.

After a particularly brutal session in Strength and Endurance, Anthony had excused himself for the rest of the day to "take his owl to Eeylops for a check-up".

So Hermione found herself sat across from Malfoy, the two of them alone in a research chamber within the endless Ministry library.

"Could you pass the ledger please?"

"Sure."

She had been surprised at how civil he'd been to her, particularly with it being just the two of them in such close quarters. She watched him for a long moment, his eyelashes catching the light as his quill raced across the parchment, before he looked up and caught her eye.

"Something the matter?"

"No, no." She looked away, willing away the blush creeping up her neck.

He nodded and went back to studying the large tome in front of him.

She looked back down at the dusty pages in front of her and sighed audibly.

"Ok, something's up." He closed the heavy book and moved it aside before reaching for another from her pile.

She peered across at his notes before resting her head in her hands. "I feel as though we're just going around in circles. What are we achieving here?"

He considered her for a long moment. "Well, you're Project Leader. What do you want to achieve?"

Hermione looked down at the parchment in front of her. "I'm not sure, at this point."

He nodded again. "Ok. Well we know that we need to get to this damn plant."

"Of course."

"And we need to know how to get there."

"Absolutely."

"So we need context."

"Which is limited knowledge outside of South America." She sighed again. "Part of me feels that we should just up and leave and head out there."

"And the other part?"

"Training, environmental adjustment, medical checks, equipment instruction." She looked over at him again. "I mean, it's all relevant. But it just feels a little..."

"Wasteful?"

"I suppose so. We've spent almost all of our time in training, we have a small library's worth of notes to familiarise ourselves with, and we're leaving in two days."

"How much more do we need to be aware of?"

"Well all research is useful research." She began, the studious school girl in her unable to resist jumping to the defence of studying as a concept.

He rolled his eyes. "Fine. How much more can we cover that will be practical and effective between now and then?"

She looked at the stack of books leaning against the side of their desk, sizing it up.

"I'm not sure."

"Then let's give it a rest."

"Give up?" She narrowed her eyes. If he wasn't going to take this seriously...

"No, not give up. We're still going out there no matter how many bloody books we read between now and then." He rolled up his parchment. "But we're leaving in two days and I would really like to get completely rat-arsed one more time before we go. I don't suppose there'll be much opportunity out there."

She couldn't help a slight grin. She had promised Harry and Ron she'd spend some time with them before leaving.

"Ok. Let's leave it here for tonight then."

"Thank fuck." He stood up, stretching out his back. "Don't get me wrong, Granger, but spending a Friday night cooped up in here with you is not my idea of a good time."

Hermione was surprised at how heated the spark of indignation that flashed through her was. "I never asked to be stuck here with you, Malfoy, you volunteered yourself for this."

"Heard it all before, Granger. You haven't yet failed to make me feel as unwelcome as possible on this trip at every given opportunity."

She stood and started gathering her own things. "Well excuse me, we would have been perfectly fine without you!"

"Oh come on, are we really going to ignore the fucking Erumpent in the room?"

She looked at him blankly.

"Goldstein's not fit for this! He'll be a fucking liability!"

She looked back down at her things, rearranging them to fit into her bag. She knew. Of course she knew Anthony wouldn't handle it well. But it had been his idea, and frankly, they were in this together. Had been since the start.

It had been Anthony's idea to set up this business of sorts. He was the one to carry out the research and handle client enquiries, and she was the one to take action. She'd travelled the world with this arrangement, had sought out treasures and artefacts on every continent, she'd worked with foreign Ministries, underground black markets and tomb raiders. And it was all down to Anthony.

But in reality, there was a reason Anthony was behind the desk and Hermione was out in the field. Whilst he preferred to handle the administration, work with clients, budget and resource, they both knew he'd never cut it out there, and they'd never needed to acknowledge it.

It had shocked her when he'd volunteered to venture out on this expedition, but it was what he'd wanted to do so she hadn't questioned it. And truth be told, she had been turning a blind eye to his ineptitude in training, his unwillingness to push further, his lack of ambition for achievement.

And now Draco was ramming it down her throat.

"I can see it in your face. You know I'm right."

He stepped towards her as she bent to retrieve her bag from under their study desk, their actions toppling some of the stacked books onto the floor in front of them.

They both knelt to right the mess, hands and pages in disarray.

"Look, Granger, I didn't mean..."

"I understand what you're saying, I..."

"But what I'm trying to..."

"Just be quiet for a moment."

"Malfoy, _please_." Hermione was staring down at a open page in one of the books.

"Granger, I don't know what you think I'm trying to say to you -"

" _Malfoy_!" She pressed her fingers to his mouth in an effort to stop him from talking. The look of alarm on his face would have been worth it for that alone. "Read this."

Once he'd recovered, he took the book from her lap.

"The solstice?"

"Yes, it's an astronomical event that occurs twice each year as the Sun..."

"Don't need the lecture, Granger, I was in Astronomy alongside you." He flipped the page. "This is... How did we miss this?"

"I'm not sure. But thankfully we didn't."

"So the summer solstice is soon, isn't it?"

"One week from today."

"So by the time we leave that leaves us five days. Including the day of travel."

"Yes."

"And we still don't know where we're going?"

"We have a general area. Not a definitive point of location."

Draco sat back on his heels. "Fuck."

"Couldn't agree more."

* * *

 **A/N:** Thank you for being so patient, and a massive thank you to those of you that have reviewed: _IGOTEAMEDWARD, Lacunae, Eva and my two anonymous guests!_

Working on lots of exciting things, so keep an eye out, but really enjoying writing this so hoping to bring you more updates more frequently!

Your thoughts on this chapter are always appreciated,

 _ **SimpsonSortia**_


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